Building Fort Necessity

Building Fort Necessity. Fort Necessity National Battlefield. , Here, in a rare meadow among the frontier forests, British soldiers began raising a small stockade in May of 1754. Lt. Col. George Washington and 40 Virginia militia had skirmished with a small French detachment nearby on May 28; now Washington decided to built a "fort of necessity" to defend his 130-man regiment from a large French army he assumed would seek revenge., Washington selected the fort's site in the field ahead. His soldiers split oak logs in half, then set them upright in a large circle about 53 feet across. Inside the stockade, they built a 14-foot-square log storehouse. Outside, they began digging trenches in the boggy ground. They finished building the fort in five days. By mid-June, Washington received reinforcements, increasing the British force to almost 400 , with promises that more British troops were on the way., [Sidebar:] , Building The Road , While waiting for reinforcements and further orders, Washington kept most of his men busy extending their British military road. Virginia troops extended the road 13 miles beyond Fort Necessity. On June 28, Indian scouts reported a French and Indian force was advancing south. Hoping to find supplies and reinforcements, the British retreated back over Chestnut Bridge to Fort Necessity (June 28 - 30)., Leaving Fort Duquesne, 600 French and 100 Indians paddled and pooled up the Monongahela River (June 28 - 30), then marched along Redstone Creek and up the British military road to Fort Necessity (July 1 - 3).